Projectile.



J. B. SEMPLE.

PROJECTIL E.

APPLICATION ElLED IAN.13, 1916.

Patented July 18, 1916;

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Application filed. January 13, 1916.

To all whom it, may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN B. SEMPLE, residingat Sewickley, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, acitizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain newand useful Improvements in Projectiles, ofwhich improvements thefollowing is a specification. Y

My invention relates to improvements in projectiles, and is particularlyapplicable to that class of projectiles known aswgrenades which arehurled either by hand or by catapult or other machine.

As will appear in the sequel, the invention is applicable to anyprojectile which in flight rotates on an axis not coincident with theline of flight.

-A grenade of my invention cannot be excan the train of explosion bestarted, until the grenade has been thrown and has traveled through aportion at least of'its trajectory. Thus accidental bursting of thegrenade while still in the hands of the user or within the trench whereit is bein used is guarded against with certainty.

itly invention. is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The two figures are views in medial and longitudinal section of twogrenades diiiering in certain respects and operating in somewhatdifierent manner, as will presently be explained, but both ofthemembodying my invention.

Confining attention first to grenade will be understood to be ofsubstantially cylindrical form, and to consist of a hollow casingadapted to contain a body of explosive and to be fragmented by theexplosion of such contained body into destructive missiles, and of a use"for efi'ecting explosion. In the drawings the casing is indicated at 1and the fuse at 2.

It is with the fuse that my invention has primarily to do. Thearrangement shown or the fuse in the casing is the preferable one:through and-is secured in one of the ends or heads of the cylindricalcasing.

The fuse includes in its structure a suitable steel: or casing, withinwhich are arranged and mounted a primer (which conveniently takes the .iorm of a percumion a firing-pin, and (if the burster charge be of a highexplosive) a detonator. firing-pin and the percussion cap are movableone with respect to the other to efiect Figure 1, the

it is axially arranged and extends Specification of Blotters Eatent. 19-543 1 11 1 1 18 363216,

Serial Ho. 1,970.

tiring, and as is well understood either the hammer which bears thefiringpin or the anvil which bears the percussion cap may be the movableelement, or both may be movable. i prefer, however, the arrangementshown; the percussion cap 0 is carried in a stationary seat 3 in thefuse stock, and the hammer 4 which bears the firing-pin moves 'in anaxial runway. The detonator (3 (when present) is carried in a seat 5 andreceives the-flash of the percussion cap when the latter is struck bythe firing-pin. The detonator is detonated on ignition and impartsdetonation to the burster charge which fills the hollow casing and inproximity to which the detonator is situated.

it will be observed of the arrangement of cap and firing-pin that theyare in axial aline'ment and that they are normally held spaced apart bya spring 6; and it will be understood that, whenthese parts are free tomove one with respect to the other, a shock exerted in a longitudinal ora more or less nearly longitudinal direction, and of sufficien-tintensity to overcome the tension oi spring 6, will eiiect the firing ofthe cap and the consequent bursting of the grenade. I Means are providedto positively hold primer cap and firing-pin apart, and the means areremovable (in the normal course of handling) on, and only on, therotation of, the projectile in flight, on an axis not coincident withits trajectory.

The means so characterized. are embodied in a nut 7, screwed upon thethreaded posterior end of the hammer block l which projects through thefuse-block and outwardly from the structure as a whole. So long as thisnut is in place, engaging the threaded hammer block and bearing from theoutside against the outer surface of the structure (theposition shown inthe drawings), movement of firing-pin to impinge upon the percussion capis certainly and efiectually prevented. The nut may be unscrewed, and,when it is so removed from its preventing position, the firing-pinisleit free to respond to firing shock and, 0v rooming the ten sion ofspring 6, to impinge upon and fire 8, which conveniently clot l to nutT, as by a of wire 9. constitutes the of .mg the nut-TI from its preventing pos 1011 described. The hammer block 4 (otherwise free in thisrespect) is Y line of fiight but causes it to rotate on an Ail axistransverse to the line of flight. As the grenade flies, rotating as itflies, the tall or drag 8 holds nut 7 against rotation and thus causesit to be unscrewed from its operation-preventing position. This occursduring flight. strikes the ground or other object the shock of striking,to the extent that it is exerted longitudinally of the structure, impelsthe firing-pin in an axial direction inward; and the hammer blockovercoming the tension of spring 6, moves inward and causes thefiring-pin to impinge upon and fire the percussion cap.

It will be understood that the screwthrea'ded engagement of nut 7 andhammer block 4 may be either normal or right-handed or it may bereversed or left-handed. As suming it to be right-handed, and assumingthe grenade when in the vertical position shown to be grasped by aright-handed man, the structure will when thrown function in the mannerdescribed. And it will be unproper functioning, grasp it in invertedposition.

The hammer block and retaining nut may be arranged as shown, the hammerblock extending, when the parts are in normal inoperative position,through and protruding beyond the nut 7 and in this projecting end thehammer block may be perforated, as at 12, to receive a cotter-pin, and acotter-pin there introduced will, obviously, secure but 7 againstaccidental removal. cotter pin may be removed when .the grenade is to beused.

I have said of the drag or tail 8 that it may be secured to the nut 7 bya loop of wire. This wire may be of suitable length and may at all timesprior to use he coiled around the grenade, and its free end may bethrust in the hole 12 in the firing pin, in place of a cotter-pin, toserve the ends described.

The grenade of Fig. 2 is in all save some minor respectsidentical withthat of Fig. 1, and these may be briefly indicated.

The grenade of Fig. 1 is designed to be fired on impact, and it will beunderstood accordingly that, if the shopk of impact is block.

\Vhen thereafter the grenade transverse, or nearly so, the grenade willnot be fired. In order to fire 1t, the shock of impact must be wholly ormeasurably longitudinal. The grenade of Fig. 2 is designed to befir'edin flight. Accordingly, a ham- .mer-block-impelling spring 13 isprovided which tends to drive ithe. hammer-block inward and to cause thefiring-pin to impinge upon the percussion cap; and the function of thisspring 13 to this end is prevented and controlled by nut 7, so long asnut 7 remains in its engagement, with the hammer In this case also thehammer block is held to rotate as a unit with the grenade by the rod 1%working in bore 15. Of course any convenient means of effecting thisunity in rotation may be employed.

I In the operation of the grenade of Fig. 2, as soon as the unscrewednut 7 releases the hammer-block (and this occurs as the gre nade flies)the tiring-pin will descend and the percussion cap will be fired.

It is manifestly desirable that the restraining nut 7 shallbe removedafter the grenade has traveled only a relatively short distance from thehand of the user; and it may be desirable that the bursting of thegrenade may be delayed until the grenade has had time to travel farther,or after it has reached its intended mark. To this end, a slow-burningpellet 3) may be interposed between the primer 0 and the detonator d,the effect of which will be to delay the explosion. If such aslow-burning pellet be used, a gas escape should be provided from it tothe atmosphere-otherwise, the desired delay may not be attained.Accordingly a canal 16, 17 is shown, leading through the body of thefuse stock and of the hammer block to the atmosphere.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. In a hand grenade the combination of two relatively movable parts oneof said partsbeing provided with a primer and the other with afiring-pin, means normally holding said parts from relative movement,and further means effective as the grenade flies rotating as it flies onan axis angularly disposed to the line of flight and efiective by suchrotation for removing the means first named from such normal position.

2. In a hand grenade the combination of a hammer member and an anvilmember movable the one, with respect to the other,

a stop-nut screw threaded upon one of the two said members, and adrag-afi'ording means borne by said stop-nut and non-symmetricallyarranged with respect to the center of turning of the nut.

3. In a hand grenade the combination of two relatively movable partsprovided one with a primer and the other with a firing pin, a lockingnut' screw threaded upon one 4 of the two said parts, and a drag borneby said locking nut.

An essentially cylindrical grenade provided with a fuse structure whichincludes a movable element extending axially with respect to saidcylindrical grenade, rotatable in unison with said grenade, and movablein axial line to effect firing, a stop member screw threaded to saidmember first named and limiting such member in its axial movement and arotation preventing tail borne by said stop member.

5. In a hand grenade capable of being projected While rotating on anaxis transverse to the line of its flight, a firing member movable inthe direction of the axis of such rotation, andprojecting through theend Wall of the structure, a guard nut screw threaded upon theprojecting end of said firing member, and a drag secured to said guardnut.

6. In a hand grenade the combination of a hammer member and an anvilmemer movable the one within the other, the inner of the two saidmembers projecting beyond the outer, screw-threaded on such projectingpart and provided with a'transverse in such projecting part, a stopmember correspondingly threaded and removably borne by the projectingpart of the inner member, Wire secured to said step member otherwisefree end capable of introduction into and removal from the said bore inthe inner menibeiyand a drag member secured to said wire. 7

in testimony Whereoi I hare hereunto set my hand.

JOE SEMPLE.

Witnesses I Gno. B, BLEMING, BAYARD H. CHRISTY.

Copies oithis patent ma; be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing-the Commissioner or Washington, D. G.

